CHAPTER FOUR

Bella bolted up in her sleeping bag, panting. Her nightshirt clung to her damp chest, her hair to her sweaty forehead.

"Bella?"

Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm okay. Just another bad dream."

"Who was chasing you this time?"

Rose stirred and mumbled, "Probably that creeper. He's enough to give me nightmares, too."

Bella smiled. "Don't say that. Edward's a nice guy. At least he didn't lure me to his house and get me drunk to have his way with me."

Alice threw a pillow at her. "Hey! Jasper didn't lure me or try to get me drunk. He was a perfect gentleman."

"That's because Edward came back before either one of them had the chance. He's such a fun-sucker," Rose said.

Bella laughed. "You shouldn't be having sex with guys you just met."

"Who said anything about sex? We were barely making out."

"I don't know what they were doing," Alice interrupted, "but Jasper and I were playing a killer game of Monopoly. I was winning too, when Edward came back and made us leave."

"Whatever," Rose rolled away from them. "I'm going back to sleep. The sun isn't even up yet."

Bella sat up to peek out of the tent window. Birds heralded the morning and the sky brightened. She grabbed her clothes. "I'm going for a run. I'll be back later."

Alice's sappy brown eyes told Bella she was worried.

"I'm okay, Al."

"Are you sure?"

"Let me rephrase that. I'll be fine."

Alice nodded. "Be careful."

"I always am."

Bella unzipped the tent and made her way outside. She stretched and inhaled the smell of pine and the faint scent of wood burning.

She sat on the bench of the picnic table tying her sneakers, and as usual, her first real thought of the day was of Jacob and the last conversation they had.

"Did you imprint on her?" Bella asked him three times before he shouted, "Yes!"

He practically growled at her when he said it.

Jacob imprinted on his new girlfriend, leaving absolutely no hope of the two of them ever getting back together. His whole life would be devoted to whoever she was. There'd be no room for Bella in his heart, not the way she wanted she wanted to be, anyway. Friendship, maybe, but never as a couple.

She walked west, from her campsite, toward the heavily wooded part of the campground. Thinking of Jake made her adrenaline race and her heart pound.

"It's over, Bella," he'd said. "I'm sorry, but it's not something I can control."

A wolf couldn't control imprinting, but it didn't make the entire situation hurt any less. Tears blinded her eyes as she jogged toward the woods. Her body stretched taut with every nerve ending tingling as emotion coursed through her. Once deep enough in the woods, she divested herself of her clothes, hid them under some brush, sprinted into a run and changed into her wolf form.

Running wouldn't take away the pain, but somehow helped her deal with it. She leaped effortlessly over fallen trees, bushes and boulders. She listened to the wind whistling past her ears. It's what freedom felt like. No limits, no constraints.

Being a wolf meant she could cry out without any human hearing her. And lately, she had no idea why, her mind had broken free of being connected with the other wolves in her pack. At first, she didn't care to be alone in this whole ever-changing wolf thing, but now she liked not having to listen to any of them.

She kept up her brisk pace, no need to stop. The run was cathartic, and the need to growl, howl and snarl came from deep down inside her. It was a complete release.

Imprinting. Jake had tried to explain it, but still, she didn't get it. Jake told her she wouldn't. Not until she experienced it herself. But would that ever happen?

When they first started dating, he'd told her he hadn't imprinted on anyone, including her. She obviously hadn't imprinted on him either, and understood that some wolves never do. She'd silently hoped that would be the case with her and Jake.

Pain tore through her chest as she thought about never being with him again. A wolf's body had accelerated healing, yet she couldn't imagine that would fix her broken heart.

She finally slowed her long strides. She could keep going until she reached Canada, but didn't want to get too far away from her friends, especially since Alice looked so worried.

Bella-wolf made her way down a steep hill, to drink from the lake. The early dawn broke on the horizon and the humid air made fog rise up from the water. Every new day brought hope and promise. That's what Alice always told her, anyway.

Bella turned on her paws and galloped back up the hill, into the woods. She took her time, lumbering back, still in her wolf form. Her thoughts turned back to Jacob and she shook her head. She had to get over him. That would be the healthy thing to do. At least that's what her head told her. She chose not to listen to her heart.

The run helped. It made her mind clearer and she could focus. She stayed in her wolf form until she spied her clothes again.

She walked a few feet and heard leaves rustle ahead. The noise stopped so she padded forward once again.

"Bella."

She stood perfectly still, paralyzed by the familiar voice. Slowly she moved her head and sniffed the air. She smelled him first then saw him.

Her heart jumped in her throat at the sight of Harry Clearwater. She hugged him close, like she'd hug Charlie. Why wouldn't she? When she shifted the first time, she was more than a little freaked out. Harry understood how she felt in ways Charlie never could.

"How did you know I was here?"

He didn't answer but she didn't care. She hugged him again, forcing him to squeak as she squeezed the air out of him.

"I'm so happy to see you."

"I'm surprised, Bella. I would've thought you'd have found me here sooner."

The two began walking.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not a coincidence that you chose this campground out of all the others."

"It's not?"

"You know we're all psychically connected."

"Yeah, but I haven't heard the others for a couple of weeks now."

"You know the reason for that."

She nodded and her stomach twisted with hurt and disappointment. "They threw me out, Harry. Disowned me."

"You are still learning the wolf ways, Bella. Sam did what he had to do."

"So you agree with him."

Harry shoved his hands deep in the pocket of his jeans, in deep thought, like he was searching for the right words.

"I think the punishment was harsh, but to be fair, in the long history of the tribe, we have never come up against this before."

"But Jake agreed with my decision." Her voice raised up an octave the way it always did when she got emotional. "Why wasn't he kicked out?"

Harry stared at her. "He's the grandson of Ephraim."

"Wow. So you're saying wolves are just furry male chauvinists."

She saw the hint of a smile tug up the corners of Harry's mouth. "You can't deny the tribe's history, Bella."

"History, schmistory. You know what? I'm glad they kicked me out. Now I can do what I want, when I want and not have to listen to Sam or anyone else from the tribe."

"That's not entirely true."

With his hands behind his back, Harry walked ahead. Bella watched him. Did she really care what the tribe thought?

She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. God, she hated to admit it, but she did. They had been family.

"Why isn't that entirely true?"

Harry kept walking.

"Harry!"

He still wouldn't look at her and for an older guy, Harry moved pretty quickly. Bella ran to catch up.

"Are you saying that even though I'm no longer part of the pack, I'm still tied to them?"

"It's your birthright, Bella."

"Yeah, one I didn't ask for. If my mother hadn't cheated on my father with your brother Michael, I'd be just a normal girl."

Her anger came right to the surface and she fought everything inside her to not shift back to her wolf form.

"All of that is inconsequential. It happened and no one can change what you are. The best thing for you to do is accept it and move on with your life."

His words of wisdom suddenly struck a chord with her.

"They sent you here to watch me, didn't they?"

Harry gave her that impish grin again. "We have to protect our own."

"Even though I'm not part of the pack anymore? God, Harry, this all so confusing."

"Sam will reassess his decision in time."

"It's the only reason I chose Dartmouth, you know. I just wanted to get far away from all of them, short of leaving the country."

They ambled along in silence, like two friends just enjoying the summer weather. Like her whole life didn't hang in the balance.

"You have put our tribe to the test, Bella. Leah was the first girl to transform, but she's not as headstrong as you are. Sam has met his match."

She heard the laughter in Harry's voice.

"You love this drama, don't you, Harry?"

"I don't love it, but I think it's good for the pack. It's always good to keep the Alpha on his toes."

"I suppose — until he tries to maim or kill you, anyway."

Harry threw his head back laughing. "You have your father's sense of humor. How is Charlie these days?"

Bella shrugged. "He says he's fine, but I know he's lonely. If I move back there, does that mean you'll come back too?"

"Maybe. Sue and I do like it here, though. Maine reminds me of Washington in many ways."

As they walked back to Camp Cullen, they reminisced about the Quileute reservation at La Push. As a young girl, she'd sit on Charlie's lap while they visited Harry or Billy Black and listen to the stories of her elders. While most little girls her age were being told stories of Snow White and Cinderella, she was hearing, what she thought, were fairy tales of the Third Wife's Sacrifice and Taha Aki, the great Quileute warrior and chief.

Charlie knew about her mother's affair with Michael but also knew how important the tribe's history would be for her heritage. It was as essential as family was to him. The whole reason he chose to stay with Renee.

But Renee didn't share his feelings. She couldn't take life in Forks and left when Bella was four. Her mother insisted on taking her too, but the tribe pulled rank. Bella couldn't leave the pack, even though it couldn't be determined whether or not Bella would shift to a wolf. Michael had the gene like the other wolves, but for some reason, he never shifted.

Only time would tell if Bella would become a wolf or not. Shifting for girls was different than it was for boys. It took a major life-changing event to transform and neither Bella nor Jake ever saw that coming.

Bella enjoyed talking with Harry, but her feelings about the pack were mixed. To her mind, Sam was just a control freak. Everybody had to do what he said, or else. And now Bella no longer had to ask, 'or else what?'

She discovered the answer to that question when Sam threw her out a little over a year ago. Being disowned by a wolf pack was very much like becoming the black sheep of your family.

She thought she'd managed it okay. She still had Charlie, who thought she just moved away because she wanted to go to a great Ivy League school. And after just chatting with Harry, Forks is where she'd return after she got her degree. She needed to be near the one person who loved her for her.

She and Harry came out of the woods and back into the campground. The sun had come up but it was still early. She hugged Harry and promised to visit him later at the snack shack.

There was still no movement from Alice and Rose at her campsite, so she went down to the beach. Bella looked out to the lake. The sun was burning off the morning mist and a family of loons moved quietly through the water leaving quiet streams of water trails in their wake.

Movement from the dock caught her eye. Edward sat at the end of it. As she watched him, a weird, prickling sensation shot through her. It was different than what she felt when her body shifted to her wolf form.

Edward turned, as if he sensed her there. He waved and sudden warmth spread from her heart to the rest of her body, like fingers of molten lava trying to reach the sea.

She waved back and the earth felt like it tilted then spun beneath her. The next thing she knew, she was on her knees, the grains of sand digging into her skin. Images of Edward's face flashed in her mind. Their first meeting at the camp store, him staring at her as she paddled away in the canoe, and his sad expression when he said he didn't want to talk about his past.

She glanced up. Edward ran toward her.

"Bella!" he said quietly enough so he wouldn't wake the campground but loud enough so she could hear him.

"I'm fine. I'm just hungry. It's ... low blood sugar."

He was beautiful. The sun illuminated the streaks of blond in his hair making him look like he wore a halo and his compassionate green eyes did things to her she couldn't explain.

"Do you want me to help you up, or do you just want to sit here for a minute?"

His deep voice oozed empathy and made her shudder.

"I think I can get up on my own."

She struggled to stand. Edward got behind her and the second his arm snaked around her waist, life as she knew it was over. No one would have to try to explain imprinting to her ever again.

A/N - Hey everyone! Thanks for reading. I truly appreciate your comments. Like all of you, I'm a huge Twilight fan, so I know imprinting is done the minute the wolf sets eyes on the imprintee. But have no fear, Bella-Wolf fans…Bella imprinting on Edward the day after she first sees him will all be explained in an upcoming chapter. Stay tuned